The boss was right, I knew nothing about the martial world. I naively believed they were just con artists, and their schemes were solely for money. But faced with immense profit, I was sure they would turn into bloodthirsty killers.
I was about to die, but I had no regrets for what I did. To have gone toe-to-toe with these con artists, though it ended in regret, I had no regrets in death. Boss Xie knew about the camera. If he went to crack the camera and open the safe, Boss Xie wouldn't get the jade. The jade had already been returned. It was a trap. The camera was a yin-yang camera. The one visible was a decoy. There was another hidden camera that would perfectly record the theft. Old Ghost knew about this plan. When I died, I believed Old Ghost would hand over the footage to the police. Boss Xie would go to jail for stealing the safe. Once he was caught, the pawns in Boss Xie's scheme, like Master Wang, Lan Zong, and Da Tou Wang, would not take the blame for him. In the end, Boss Xie would spend a lifetime in prison for fraud, theft, and even murder.
This plan was somewhat successful. The only regret was my death.
...
I didn't know where they had taken me. We stopped the car, and they brought me out. I didn't hear the wind of the wild, which symbolized death. Instead, I smelled the aroma of spicy hot pot. My heart lit up, and so did my eyes. Indeed, Old Ghost was in the underground parking garage, sitting on two large suitcases, holding a bowl, and enthusiastically eating spicy hot pot.
"What's going on?"
As I spoke, I surveyed my surroundings. It was still the basement of the hotel I was staying at.
The two thugs from before were now smiling faintly. They took out the five hundred thousand Boss Xie had given them and handed it to Old Ghost. Old Ghost took out two stacks, handed them to the thugs, "You've worked hard, brothers. Take this for tea."
"Thank you, brother!"
"Thank my regards to Old Gao."
"Alright, no problem. We'll be going now, brother."
After the two thugs left, my gaze remained on the suitcases. I recognized these pull-handle suitcases; they belonged to Boss Xie.
...
After a brief visit to the gates of the King of Hell, I suddenly felt hungry. I took the remaining half bowl of spicy hot pot from Old Ghost and squatted on the ground to eat. Old Ghost had exquisite taste. This spicy hot pot was numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant. I wondered how he found it.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?"
Old Ghost shook his head and gave me another lesson: "In the circle of strategists, those who can be the oriole are everywhere. But true masters don't necessarily care what the scheme looks like. They only need to achieve a state where all things under heaven are not owned by me, and all things under heaven are used by me."
I mumbled, "All things under heaven are not owned by me, and all things under heaven are used by me." Can someone truly achieve this?
"Are these suitcases Boss Xie's money?"
"Yes."
"How did you get them? Did you rob them?"
"We stole them. After Boss Xie arranged to kill you, he first sent the money to a safe place, and then came to the hotel to steal the raw jade. Our people stole it at that crucial moment. He probably doesn't know yet."
"Amazing!" I said sincerely.
At this point, Old Ghost put the remaining money into the suitcase and handed it to me. He took away the spicy hot pot I had left unfinished and said with a smile, "This over four million in cash is all your accomplishment. The money is yours. By the way, pay me back your brother's medical expenses. That was my private funds."
I was quite surprised. In my mind, Old Ghost helped me only to get the money. This money was right in front of me, yet he didn't take any.
"You don't want the money, and you're still helping me like this. What exactly do you want?"
"That day downstairs, I couldn't save your brother, but I saved you instead. I found your thinking ability to be very clear, so I chose to help you. This is fate. There's no need to link everything to money."
"Then how should I handle this over four million?"
Old Ghost listened, happily finished his spicy hot pot, walked a few steps, and casually placed the bowl on someone's car before smiling and saying, "That's your business. What does it have to do with me? Pay me back the money for your brother's treatment, and we'll be even."
"Is it over just like that?"
"See you around if fate allows."
With that, Old Ghost truly turned and left. I quickly chased a few steps: "You're not serious, are you? I still want to learn from you to be a strategist."
"A strategist can be used everywhere: in business, career, marriage. It doesn't have to be used in scams."
"But someone has to teach me!"
"Experience it yourself? Realize it. If this could be taught, then everyone under heaven would be a strategist. Bye-bye. Don't follow me. You'll lose that over four million soon."
"What do I do next?"
"Don't you have a plan?"
...
I couldn't believe Old Ghost had just left me, but my plan wasn't finished. After returning to the hotel, I found the safe had been tampered with, so I called the police and gave them the file from the other camera.
The entire process of Boss Xie stealing the safe was recorded. I watched it with the police. I saw Boss Xie's disappointed and angry expression after opening the safe.
"He doesn't seem to want to steal the money in the safe? What exactly does he want to steal?"
The police asked me. We could clearly see in the video that Boss Xie stole one hundred thousand yuan from the safe. I had never kept a hundred thousand yuan in the safe, nor did I have that much money. But I knew where the money came from. I had informed Old Ghost to take the jade from the safe. He knew the safe's password, so he put one hundred thousand yuan in it.
By prying open the safe, Boss Xie would be arrested for theft. The amount involved, one hundred thousand yuan, would add to Boss Xie's charges.
"The jade? Boss Xie thought I had a top-quality raw jade and had been negotiating to buy it from me at a high price?"
The police were surprised. "You have one?"
"No. When I cut the window, it looked like good material, but after cutting, it was actually quite ordinary."
After saying that, I handed the prepared photos to the police. The police, being locals of Ruili, chuckled and said, "Gambling on stones is harmful. You shouldn't play anymore."
"I'll never dare to play again."
...
Boss Xie didn't run. After discovering that the raw jade he wanted wasn't in the safe, the smart Boss Xie should have realized he'd been tricked. But he didn't run because the over four million he'd painstakingly scammed had disappeared.
Boss Xie, who was caught, was temporarily detained for theft. Meanwhile, I went to the detention center and met Master Wang and Lan Zong, who had scammed me. Upon learning that Boss Xie was arrested, Master Wang was resolute, while Lan Zong was clearly wavering. After all, the difference between the principal offender and an accomplice in fraud was quite significant.
Looking at Master Wang's firm expression, I smiled and said, "Actually, whether you admit it or not is no longer important. At most, you are involved in my being scammed and causing serious injury. I inquired, and another person scammed by Boss Xie also lost their life. I've already contacted their families and over a dozen people scammed in Ruili. They will all come to Ruili to make statements and provide evidence to the police."
After saying this, I could feel Master Wang's eyes become lost.
"Your failure wasn't a failure of your scamming techniques, but you provoked someone you absolutely couldn't afford to provoke."
Then I stood up and left. Master Wang called from behind, "Who exactly are you?"
I didn't answer because the person I mentioned who couldn't be provoked wasn't me; it was Old Ghost.